The Scandalous Lives of Mystic Falls' Elite
by bellamywinchester
Summary: Gossip Girl crossover. Caroline goes to New York and Klaus soon joins. Together they manoeuvre the Upper East side, getting caught in some of what she expected – gorgeous clothing and glamorous parties – and some she didn't, like the battle against Bart Bass. Klaroline and Chair. Set post TVD S4 and AU GG S6.
1. Chapter 1

This is a TVD crossover with Gossip Girl – this site just wouldn't give me the option to mark it so.

Dedicated to my Klarobesties (and Klarochair lovers, like me) Kaitlyn and Erika, who are incredible human beings for doing 60 days of sacrificing sugar with me. I literally wouldn't have been able to get throught it otherwise so thank you guys so much :)

Hayley doesn't exist and never did.

Enjoy :)

* * *

Caroline signed her name in the guest register book then smiled down at it, amused, before looking up at the man behind the desk.

He nodded and she grinned giddily before stepping back and into the hall.

For a second she stood stock still, admiring the people, music, food and general glamour.

She still couldn't believe she was actually here. It had always been a dream of hers to come to New York – see Fashion Week and attend all the parties; rub shoulders with the elite and use fancy words in long important toasts.

And here she was, with everything right in front of her. The only thing missing was Fashion Week, which she'd stupidly missed being held up in Mystic Falls, but luckily there was still some fashion involved in this party, being the celebration of a designer's successful new line.

She couldn't wipe the smile from her face as she took a seat at the table where her name was engraved into a silver name plate beneath _Waldorf Designs_.

Lifting it, she ran a finger over the cool metal, staring at the name she'd picked for herself in this city.

_Caroline Mikaelson_

It had all happened so suddenly – she'd been compelling her way into this party when the man asked for her name and she panicked, realising that if anyone did a proper background check on Caroline Forbes, they'd know she didn't belong here.

The first thing that had come to mind was impersonating someone – someone who had never been here before but would have an impressive record. Rebekah Mikaelson, she'd almost said. But she had no way of knowing if Rebekah had in fact been here and made enough of a name for herself to be recognised, which would put Caroline in hot water.

She ran a finger over the stolen surname, thinking about what it implied.

"Hey. Would you like to dance? I've suddenly found myself minus a date."

Caroline looked up and came face to face with an insanely cute guy. He had light brown hair, dreamy eyes and impossibly deep dimples.

"I'm Nate, by the way," he smiled.

"Caroline," she grinned, about to stand up and accept his offer.

"No offense, mate, but I think my offer is slightly more tempting."

Caroline froze at the familiar voice and her heart jumped into her throat when from behind Nate stepped a man who had his own set of dimples and dreamy eyes.

Thinking quickly, she put the name plate back on the table, upside down.

Klaus offered his hand and she took it, standing up.

"Sorry," she smiled apologetically at Nate.

"No problem," he replied, though he looked confused, like no one had ever rejected an offer like that before.

Klaus led her out onto the dance floor before pulling her into him as they began dancing, a smirk set on his face.

"Don't look so smug," she glared. "I only came out here with you so I could find out what the hell you're doing here."

He looked amused. "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

She frowned, confused, before she realised what he was referring to.

_I'm not talking to you until you tell me why you invited me here._

Huffing, she decided to change tactics.

"I'm guessing you compelled your way in?"

"As much as you did," he smirked. "I could have obtained an invitation but it was quite a last minute decision."

"Why, because you're stalking me?"

He chuckled. "That's a bit harsh, love. I was simply intrigued by what it is you're doing in New York."

"Did you follow me here?"

He spun her and she watched the room whirl, a sea of glitter and lights. Her dress fanned out around her for the few seconds before he pulled her back in.

"Have I mentioned how ravishing you look?"

Caroline blushed.

She'd spent forever picking out the dress, wanting her first impression to be a good one and she'd ended up picking a perfect one if she said so herself. It was a pale beige, the bodice encrusted and sparkling everywhere, leading down to where it flared out from her waist right down to her knees. She'd paired it with nude Manolos.

"Thank you," she breathed, reluctantly. "You don't look so bad yourself."

He looked pleased by the semi-compliment, smirking, and she rolled her eyes.

The song was winding down.

"How long are you staying for?" she asked, watching his reaction closely.

But it was casual and accompanied by a small shrug, a mark of honesty with him, she'd learned.

"Haven't quite decided yet."

She gritted her teeth. "Is it going to depend on how long I stay for?"

He smiled, looking charmed; his dimples deep. "Perhaps."

She stopped as the song did, pulling her hand from his.

"Just stay out of my way, Klaus, ok?"

"Let me guess: already spoken for?"

The words caught her by surprise and a smile escaped before she could help it.

She recovered quickly, glaring at him instead.

"_Seriously_. Stop… showing up."

With that she turned around and made a beeline for wherever the ladies' room was, knowing that was at least one place he wouldn't be able to follow her into.

* * *

Caroline stared at herself in the mirror.

Considering she'd only been here for about fifteen minutes there wasn't really anything to fix so instead she stared into her own eyes, trying to figure herself out.

If she'd seen pure annoyance and frustration behind the blue orbs rimmed by black eyeliner and darkened lashes, she wouldn't have spared another glance.

But her eyes glittered and her lips lilted a little at the sides, no matter how much she tried to straighten them out.

Something about seeing Klaus had shaken her up and not in the way she would've expected.

Hearing someone approach the ladies' room, she took a deep breath and told herself that she'd just been surprised and hadn't totally hated it because it had been nice to see a familiar face in a strange place.

Satisfied, she smiled at herself as a woman pushed inside, looking annoyed.

She was beautiful, a brunette with huge expressive eyes and pert lips, and she wore a gorgeous deep red floor-length gown.

Ignoring Caroline, she dropped down into an armchair and lifted her dress with a frustrated puff of air.

The woman looked strangely familiar even though Caroline knew she'd never met her. She stepped forward curiously.

"Hi. Is something wrong?"

The brunette looked up then rolled her eyes. "My best friend met a guy here and decided to go somewhere with him in the middle of my party and being the amazing friend that I am, I decided to see her off at the airport. Which was great for us but completely ruined my shoes."

Caroline looked down at where the woman was removing her heels. They were Louboutins and a thin coat of grime that was clearly not supposed to be there covered the light material.

"Wait," Caroline frowned. "_Your_ party?"

The woman removed her shoes with a sigh. "I guess technically my mother's hosting it but it's for me." Looking up at Caroline again, she stretched out a hand. "Blair Waldorf, I don't believe we've met."

Caroline's eyes widened. "No, no we haven't. I'm Caroline, uh, Mikaelson."

"Caroline, you wouldn't happen to have a spare pair of heels, would you?" Blair joked, holding up a pair of flats. "_These_ are the only spare shoes I brought, for after."

Caroline's brow furrowed. "You _have_ to wear heels with that dress."

"Exactly," Blair moaned, looking down at her shoes as she pondered the situation.

"What size are you?"

"Six."

"Me too! Here, let's swap," Caroline smiled, sitting down opposite Blair.

"Are you sure?" the brunette asked.

"Yeah. I mean, this is your party, you can't exactly go out there in flats."

"What are you going to wear?"

The blonde pulled a face as she removed her Manolos. "I was thinking of going home anyway."

"You don't like the party?"

"No!" Caroline replied hastily. "I just… saw someone and it rattled me a little."

"Ex?"

She hesitated. "Something like that."

Caroline held out her nude heels and Blair smiled.

"Well thank you, Caroline Mikaelson. You are a lifesaver," she said, taking them and passing Caroline the flats.

"No problem." She frowned as she pulled on the other woman's shoes. "Did you just say that your friend just met someone at the party tonight then went to another country with him?"

Blair smirked. "I know it sounds strange but trust me, I would be worried if it were actually out of character for her."

Caroline laughed. "Ok." She stood. "I should go."

She shot herself one last glance in the mirror and grabbed her purse, making to leave.

"Caroline!" Blair called and Caroline turned back around. "Personally I think you should go out there and dance with the cutest guy you can find to show this other guy exactly what he no longer has," Blair smiled slyly as she pulled on the shoes, "but if you do want to go home, you can take the limo I have waiting for me."

Caroline gasped. "What? No! Seriously, I'm ok, I was just going to take a cab."

"Come on, I practically just stole your shoes – I owe you a ride."

Caroline opened her mouth to refuse once more but the brunette shook her head vehemently.

"Go outside, ask for Arthur and say I told him to take you home. Then ask him for my address so you can get your shoes back tomorrow."

Caroline's jaw hung open. This woman was even more bossy than she was.

She liked her already.

"Fine. Thank you."

Blair smiled. "Don't thank me – you just saved me in a shoe emergency, I'm pretty sure I'll remember you on my deathbed."

Both women laughed before Caroline exited the bathroom with a small nod. Outside she grinned, giddy with the fact that she was about to have her first limo ride.

Blair stood, facing the mirror as she checked her makeup. She didn't care too much about the party considering her mother hadn't even been able to make it and she could've easily sent for a pair of heels from her own closet if not for what she _did_ care about – Chuck.

He'd thought he'd be unable to make it but had managed after all and was now out on the dance floor waiting for her. And considering they weren't allowing themselves so much as kissing, Blair was going to dance with her Bass if it was the last thing she did.

Satisfied with her makeup, she lifted her dress to look down at the borrowed shoes.

They were nude and matte, exactly what she would have chosen to pair with the dress the blonde had been wearing if it had been her.

She'd never heard of the woman before, which was strange, but obviously it was someone her mother knew if she'd invited her to the party, which was half why she'd been so nice to her. The other half being that she hadn't actually seemed that bad and had definitely skyrocketed in Blair's esteem when she offered up her shoes.

Blair shifted her weight to make sure the shoes fit perfectly before letting the dress back down and picking up her purse.

Blair had two thoughts on her mind as she exited the bathroom. The first was Chuck, of course, accompanied by all the usual thoughts – the ring that hung around her neck and the determination for both of their success.

But the second was more surprising, intriguing even.

She quite liked Caroline.


	2. Chapter 2

As stated in the description, this story is an AU of Gossip Girl season 6, meaning the parties and other small things are different than what happens in the show. However, the basic storyline is still the same. Thus, the previous chapter kicked off from about the end of 6x04 wherein Chuck finds out from Sheikh Hassan's daughter, Iman, that his dad illegally bought oil from her father which is why Bart faked his death – to get away from the feds. Chuck now needs to find proof of that to put his dad away.

Differences: Serena's already broken up with Steven thus Sage isn't an issue so Blair's fashion show goes well, meaning her and Serena's relationship begins to repair and her line is well received (hence the party in the previous chapter – and Serena going off with some other guy). At the end of 6x04 Dan also doesn't come to Blair for a place to stay (um, does the word hotel ring a bell?). Also Bart's being a bit more active in his meanness in this than in the show.

I think that's about it, feel free to ask me any questions about the canon for this.

Enjoy :)

* * *

Blair stood at the foot of the staircase with the man she was completely in love with and couldn't have – yet.

And where she'd been expecting good news, something to go along with her own success – all it was was more indications of waiting. Last night Chuck had told her of a single lead he'd found but it hadn't panned out and now they stood together, mourning having come so close.

He looked away. "I'm beginning to lose hope."

Blair shook her head hastily. "Don't." Reaching around her neck, she pulled out the ring that hung at the end of the silver chain around her neck.

"This is our hope. Don't forget that."

Chuck looked pained and he took hold of the ring, folding his other hand into hers.

"All I think about is this and the day I'll get to put it on your finger, Blair." His brows furrowed. "But it's useless. I spent allof yesterday _personally_ going through every single financial record I could possibly lay my hands on."

She smiled a little, gratefully. "And you still managed to show up at my party, looking dashing, I might add."

He smiled too, though briefly. "But I want to do more than dance with you, Blair."

She blushed, ducking her head as thoughts of Monaco raced through her mind.

Chuck put a finger below her chin to tilt her face up.

"I am so proud of you and your line," he said, caressing her cheek. "But I still have nothing and Iman couldn't provide any further help."

Tears started at the corner of her eyes and she blinked quickly, moving forward to lay her forehead on his shoulder. Letting go of the ring, Chuck laced his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, sighing.

There was nothing he wanted more than Blair. But she deserved more than what he could give her at the moment. She deserved a family and his was currently in shambles – Lily having reluctantly chosen Bart's side in the battle between the Basses. And his father seemed dead-set on destroying Chuck's life and showing him who the better man supposedly was, blackballing him at every turn.

He wanted Blair to reign over every inch of Manhattan again, like she was born to do, and being the wife of the city's future black sheep wouldn't help. He wanted them to have the future they'd always envisioned together and, most of all, he wanted to be the man she deserved.

"Hey," Blair whispered into his hear. "I'm glad you came to me. I want to be here for you when you feel like this, ok?"

He nodded lightly and she smiled against his cheek.

"We're going to find a way and live happily ever after. Because we are meant to be and no one can stop that." She pulled away to make eye contact. "Least of all _Bart Bass_."

It made him smile and she felt proud of her accomplishment.

Chuck being happy was first on her list of wants. The second being…

She inched her lips closer to his and Chuck sucked in a breath.

"Just one," she whispered out.

She moved slightly forward, her eyes flicking up to his as she waited for him to close the rest of the distance.

Chuck drew shaky breaths, looking down at her lips lustfully for a few long moments.

But eventually he pulled away instead with a small shake of the head.

Blair sighed, disappointed, but nodded in understanding. She knew they needed to restrain themselves. It was crazy how good Chuck was managing to be about it but also lucky because who knew where they'd be otherwise. Upstairs, probably.

"I should go," he stated, sounding miserable.

She nodded again.

But they stood staring at one another, him clearly angry with himself and her eyes all but burning with outright yearning.

The elevator doors dinged open and still neither removed their eyes from the other.

Caroline stepped out grinning.

Blair had told her doorman to expect her and as such the blonde had been greeted heartily with a 'Miss Mikaelson' and a friendly smile before being informed that _Miss Waldorf _was expecting her and instructed about which floor to go to.

Her smile was still huge when she turned left, eying a huge round table atop which sat a large vase of pink flowers, but faltered when she caught sight of the brunette from last night.

Blair stood in close proximity with a dark-haired man. He wore a suit Elijah would probably be proud of, only paired with a bow tie. She thought him cute, though with the problematic bad boy label practically stamped to his forehead.

The mystery man seemed to be glaring down at Blair and she met his gaze with a conflicted one.

Caroline frowned, unable to interpret the scene before her. Then they both turned their heads and, seeing her, quickly moved apart. The man left without another word to Blair, nodding at Caroline as he passed, and stepped into the elevator.

"Are you ok?" Caroline asked Blair worriedly. "Was that guy bothering you?"

Blair looked surprised. "What? Oh, no," she laughed. "It's just…" she struggled, before sighing, "complicated."

The blonde wondered what that meant exactly but nodded politely.

Blair still seemed to be in some sort of trance, looking off into the distance with a small wistful smile and Caroline waited until the brunette shook herself out of it.

"I'm sorry! Your Manolos are upstairs!"

Caroline laughed and Blair blushed a little. Whoever the dark-haired man was, he obviously affected Blair.

"You give me those and have a seat while I go get them."

Caroline relinquished Blair's flats to her with a nod before the brunette headed up the spiralling staircase.

Caroline took a breath as she walked into Blair's living room. It was absolutely stunning – not huge but still gorgeous and quaint; exactly the kind of place she would've imagined Blair to live in.

She was about to drop down onto the really comfortable-looking sofa when the elevator doors opened again, catching her attention.

For some reason she was still surprised.

"_Klaus_?"

For his part, the Original looked as surprised as her but a smirk soon settled on his face.

"Hello, love."

He was dressed in his usual jeans and Henley, necklaces strung around his lean neck, but he'd paired it a nice jacket and formal shoes.

Caroline shook herself out of studying him and was about to go off at him for stalking her, when Blair came walking back down the stairs with Caroline's silver Manolos in hand.

"Oh." She smiled politely at the light-haired man standing in her entranceway. "You were at the party last night."

Caroline watched Klaus put on his amiable public persona.

"Yes, and it was a marvellous one. Your mother certainly knows how to throw a bash."

"And how to invite mystery guests," Blair countered smartly as she got to the base of the staircase.

Caroline walked back into the entranceway as Klaus smiled.

"Apologies, love, I'm Klaus."

"Nice to meet you," she nodded politely. Then, seeing Caroline, she added: "And this is your fellow mystery guest, Caroline Mikaelson."

Klaus' brow shot up and Caroline flushed deep red, ducking her head as she took the shoes the brunette offered.

"Caroline, this is Klaus…"

Caroline's head popped up and she took a quick step back before gesturing, shaking her head; pleading Klaus with her eyes.

"Forbes," he smiled slyly. "_Klaus Forbes_."

Caroline's jaw dropped as she exhaled heavily, half in relief and half in utter surprise.

Klaus looked amused as he stared at her before diverting his attention to back to Blair.

"However, Miss Mikaelson and I are already quite well acquainted."

"You are?" Blair asked in surprise, before turning to Caroline with a slightly creased brow.

"Old friends," he confirmed with that same sly smile, before nodding politely. "I must go but please pass my thanks on to your mother."

Blair nodded with a tight smile and watched the man leave, feeling a little confused. Two people at her mother's party that she had never met before nor heard her mother mention, and they knew each other? That seemed a little strange.

She turned on the blonde who looked clearly flustered.

"What was _that _about?"

Caroline bit on the inside of her lip. "Um… it's – complicated."

Blair blinked then smiled broadly. "I like you already."

* * *

"What the _hell_ was that about?"

Caroline didn't say it too loudly as she stepped out of the elevator, so as not to attract unnecessary attention, just loud enough for him to hear from where he was about to step outside.

Klaus turned with an air of confusion then waited for her approach.

He shrugged. "With these people it's simpler to earn invitations than compel them, as the latter begs suspicion. I was simply being polite; ensuring I'll receive one in the future."

Caroline scoffed. "I didn't even know you knew how to _be _polite!"

"That hurts," he teased.

She narrowed her eyes and was about to say something that would really hurt – she wasn't sure what, just yet – but he beat her to speaking.

"Where are you staying?"

"W-what?"

"Where are you staying; do you have an apartment nearby?"

She found herself answering the question out of pure surprise. "N-no, it's really difficult to find – " Catching herself, she glared. "Why are you asking me that?"

Klaus shrugged. "It's just that I have a loft not far from here with a spare bedroom."

She immediately opened her mouth to reject his implied proposal, but he continued.

"As I'm sure you're aware, where you stay in New York is as important to these people as what you wear."

As he said it, his gaze slowly traversed her body and she almost shivered with the appreciation in his eyes.

The most annoying thing was that he was right. And he clearly knew it too; knew from her clothing and partying and apparent new friendships that her aim was to fit in here, at least for a while.

"A _completely separate_ spare bedroom?" she confirmed with narrowed eyes.

Klaus smirked and took her by the arm. "Come on, I'll have someone collect your luggage."


	3. Chapter 3

The elevator doors slid open.

Caroline went silent and Klaus smirked.

It was the only moment since she'd climbed into his limo at the Waldorfs' that she'd stopped talking.

Diligently he'd listened to her talk about the tea Blair had invited her over for tomorrow, what she should wear, her excitement regarding returning to the Waldorfs', and pondering what they would talk about.

Klaus hadn't minded the topics of conversation so much as the reason for them.

"Nervous, love?"

She'd been drawing a breath, having caught sight of the place, but after a second of hesitation she turned to him with a glare.

"Why would I be nervous?"

He held out an arm, gesturing for her to lead the way, and he formed his reply as she stepped out of the elevator.

"To be staying here, perhaps?" he proffered, watching even the back of her head closely.

She was scanning the loft, he could tell, before she turned back to him and scoffed, which made him smile.

"I've been in fancy apartments before, Klaus."

Smirking, he stepped closer.

"I meant with me."

For once she lost her steady stream of quick defences, her lips parting as a flustered breath left them.

Then she regained her composure, rolling her eyes – another reaction of Caroline's he found himself incredibly fond of.

"You don't make me nervous."

He smiled. He'd learned to read when she was lying. It was clear that he did, in fact, make her nervous but he still wanted to hear her admit to it.

He took a step closer then another. She glared at him.

"When's my stuff getting here?"

Klaus hesitated. The problem with playing this particular game with Caroline was that she wasn't the only one affected.

And up close the strangest of things began to catch his attention, like the length of her eyelashes and the way they fluttered when she looked at him. Or the particular curve of her lips; the deep Cupid's bow. He'd never kissed her in his own body before and the thought overwhelmed him at times, to the point where sometimes he couldn't think of anything but pressing her to him and –

"Klaus, you're staring," she informed him.

He stepped back, noting the strange way she was looking at him.

"My stuff?" she prompted.

Drawing a deep breath, he rubbed the back of his neck, chagrined.

"Yes, it should be arriving soon."

"Ok," she folded her arms. "Where's my room?"

"This way," he gestured.

She went ahead and he followed behind, mentally chastising himself for allowing himself to have lost focus like that again. It was a constant battle, with her, to remain present and fully conscious of his faculties. He was uncomfortably physically attracted to her and too often it ran away with him.

"This is my room," he said, to which she shot him a look over her shoulder. "And this is yours."

He pushed the door open for her, not allowing himself to become lost in her scent as he leaned past her.

She met his eyes, taking a little breath, and he let her stare for a second before drawing back.

Caroline hesitated for a quick moment then stepped inside, and he was satisfied to note her little 'Wow'.

When he'd become aware of her presence in New York he'd immediately thought of this property as one she would approve of and be comfortable in. Amidst arranging for his own flight here he'd had this bedroom done up for her appropriately.

"I'm assuming you like it?" he asked for good measure.

Her expression had softened when she turned to him.

"Yeah."

Neither of them said anything, him simply lost in this rare moment when her eyes weren't burning with ire and yet entrancing all the same.

Despite his own invitation being the reason for it, her presence here and now was taking him off guard. He hadn't expected her to agree to staying with him so easily. He'd thought the convincing stage alone would take days, if not weeks.

"I'm glad."

Clearing her throat, she dragged her eyes away from him.

"There's a lock on the door, right?"

He chuckled. "Just what is it you're implying, love?"

"That I wouldn't put anything past you."

She did that. Any moment with the least bit of intimacy needed to be covered with hostility, immediately. And while he more than enjoyed the banter this created, it also made him wonder if she would ever stop; if she would ever be comfortable with intimacy with him.

"Will you be joining me for dinner tonight?"

Her living here with him equalled more time spent together – at least, that was the plan.

"I have plans," she tossed her hair.

He was about to say something when he heard his workers come in through the elevator and he sighed, stepping aside.

He stayed, under the guise of making sure everything went smoothly, to watch her delight at her luggage arriving; then at all the storage options available to her, specifically the rotating shoe racks and the lightbulbs on her dressing table mirror.

Then he retreated to his own room to listen to her unpack.

* * *

Blair wrote a note on the sketch board then sighed.

She'd gone through what felt like hundreds of the designs for her next line, leaving scathing remarks on every single one of them with full knowledge that she was being far harsher than was absolutely needed.

She was in a foul mood. Even Dorota had become terrified to come in and check on her, resorting to only appearing if she was carrying macaroons in order to decrease her chances of getting snapped at.

Blair almost felt bad for everyone she was taking her mood out on – _almost. _It was hard to really feel bad when she knew the exact cause of her bad mood and thus was too busy feeling sorry for herself.

She wanted Chuck.

Sex, yes – definitely. But she also wanted him here with her. She wanted to ask him what he thought of the designs and then playfully shoot down his opinions. She wanted his arms around her and his voice in her ear.

Pushing all the sketches aside, she reached for her phone.

He answered on the first ring and she smiled at getting to hear his voice.

"Hi."

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately.

She smiled, settling down on her bed and pulling some blankets over her.

"Nothing."

"Blair," he admonished.

She ignored him. "What are you doing?"

He sighed heavily. "Working. Or trying to, at least."

"What's wrong?"

There was a pause.

"Would you believe me if I said nothing?"

She smiled.

"I'm just missing you."

The whole thing with Chuck wasn't a case of wanting him because she couldn't have him, a feeling she was familiar with.

She wanted him because she _could_ have him. She'd agreed to the deal they'd made in Monaco – that, effectively, they would stay together but remain chaste. But at the time she'd only thought about how there wasn't anyone else she wanted, so it wasn't as if being semi-single and semi-committed would be an issue. She was through playing games: Chuck was the only man she wanted to be with.

But what she hadn't considered was how difficult it would be to have Chuck while simultaneously not having him.

Chuck sighed. "Same."

"Really?"

"I always miss you, Blair."

Her heart warmed. As much as she knew that he was in this for the long haul and that there was no one else for him either, it still couldn't help bothering her that he was so good at resisting all her physical advances when she felt like she was dying without him.

Most of the time the ring hanging from the chain around her neck assured her, but for the rest of the time she needed to hear it from him.

She settled further down into her pillow.

"I've become the world's most depressed workaholic," she joked.

He laughed. "I know how you feel. Combined with the lack of results I'm getting, I feel as if I'm about to explode with frustration."

She smirked. "I won't say something dirty, but I'm thinking it."

He laughed again and she smiled. Then her heart started to patter as a thought occurred to her.

"Maybe you could come over for a while."

He drew a sharp breath.

"Blair…"

"We can have tea or something, that's it."

He exhaled slowly. "You're going to be the death of me," he informed.

"And not having you is going to be the death of _me_," she countered.

On his end, Chuck smirked. Everything Blair was feeling he felt doubly so, and his eyes could only drift closed when she spoke to him, wishing that he could be there with her.

"You're too distracting, Blair," he lamented.

"Should I let you go; get back to your work?"

"No," he shook his head, putting his feet up. "It's no use. Even when I'm working I'm still thinking about you."

She let out a heavy breath. "I know what you mean. On the last dress I looked at I almost wrote 'More Chuck' instead of 'More sparkle'."

They both laughed.

"No offence, but we need to take your dad down as in yesterday."

He smiled. "I can't disagree."

She let out a long heavy sigh and he repressed the urge to do the same.

"Come on, tell me about your day."

"Well," she started, "we have some new Upper East Siders."

* * *

Caroline stuck her tongue out in concentration as she applied a second coat of glittery nail polish to her toe.

Her head lifted when there was a knock on her door.

"Come in!"

Klaus stepped in with a little frown.

"I thought you were leaving for dinner."

Oh, crap. She'd completely forgotten about that lie.

Caroline had spent forever unpacking, exploring all the features of her room and discovering various extras, like the assortment of high end makeup and nail polishes she'd found in the dressing table. And yeah, she may have gotten _sort of_ side-tracked by the latter.

"Um, I changed my mind," she lied. "And I'm not really hungry." He folded his arms and her eyes narrowed. "What are we doing for blood here?"

"There's a section in the fridge with as much of the bagged stuff as you'd like, sweetheart. Would you like one?"

"No, it's ok," she waved him off, "I'll get some later."

"So you do in fact plan on leaving your bedroom?" he smirked.

She glared. "I've been unpacking." Her cheeks pinked when she realised what she was busy doing. "And, um, painting my nails."

Klaus smiled, approaching the bed.

"You found the things, then?"

"Yeah, and who knew you knew how to pick out the perfect contouring kit?" she teased.

He chuckled, drawing forward to sit on the foot of her bed.

"I believe we still have a conversation to finish."

She raised a brow. "We do?"

"Your uneasiness with living here."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Klaus, can you just let it go? Seriously."

He watched her for a long moment before shrugging.

"I just want you to be comfortable here, Caroline."

She wanted to point out that she wasn't planning on staying all that long, _especially _now that he was here, but instead she decided to go with the version of the truth that didn't beat around any bush.

He'd asked for it.

"Look," she sighed, putting down the nail polish, "yes, fine, I'm nervous. I'm nervous about this whole situation because as much as I've denied it, yes, we do have… _something_. Some weird chemistry that I'm _not ok_ with, by the way, and you've been really… _clear _about your feelings and intentions so here are mine: I admit that I'm physically attracted to you, but that _doesn't_ mean I'm gonna act on it. Just because things were ok between us at graduation doesn't mean that everything you did to my friends is just gonna go away." She drew a breath. "I am _not_ interested."

Taking a longer breath, she noted with surprise that Klaus' face was passive, as it had been throughout her entire ramble.

… had he _heard_ her?

"How did Tyler take the breakup?" he asked calmly.

She almost choked. "W-what?"

"Tyler; you two broke up – how did he take it?"

How in the hell did he know that?

Smiling, he stood. "You can tell me at dinner tomorrow night; we can toast to it. 7pm… don't _forget_."

He winked at the last and Caroline's jaw dropped. Clearly her lie had not been as flawless as she'd thought it to be. He was getting way too good at reading her.

Quickly she re-composed herself.

"Seriously? This is how you get dates? Bartering or force?"

Klaus cocked a brow. "Then you're saying it's a date?"

Again her jaw slackened in flustered surprise.

He smirked then began heading towards the door.

She was still trying to come up with a retort when he came to an abrupt pause in the doorway.

"Mikaelson?" he asked over his shoulder.

Instantly she felt a blush rise to her cheeks, burning hot.

"It was the first name that came to mind!"

"Then _I_ was on your mind?" he smiled sweetly.

"You're insufferable," she informed him, indignant. "And by the way, it's _Miss_ Mikaelson, not Mrs, which would technically make me your _sister_."

"Caroline Mikaelson," he tried it out, ignoring her.

She glared and he only smirked as he exited her bedroom.

"Caroline Mikaelson," he continued to murmur in the hallway, "Caroline Mikaelson," he toyed it around in his mouth.

* * *

Thoughts? Should I even continue with this story?


End file.
